12:00 PM Pacific Time: Mondays - Wednesdays
Acclaimed program of ideas, in-depth analysis, and commentary on a variety of matters—political, economic, social, and cultural—important to progressive and radical thinking and activism. Against the Grain is co-produced and co-hosted by Sasha Lilley and C. S. Soong.
Diversity is measured in large part by the presence or absence of people belonging to one ethnoracial category (Black, Hispanic, etc.) or another. But do those long-standing categories still make sense, given intragroup differences, immigration to the U.S., and race-mixing? David Hollinger thinks that if the goal of anti-discrimination policy is to match reward conferred … Continued
What can Hinduism’s meditative traditions offer to movements for social change? In especially Tantric principles Farah Godrej finds resources for challenging gender, class/caste, and other hierarchies. Of particular significance, in Godrej’s view, is Tantra’s rejection of the matter/spirit dualism that pervades orthodox Hindu philosophical systems. (Encore presentation.) Farah Godrej, “Orthodoxy and Dissent in Hinduism’s Meditative … Continued
From at least the Haitian Revolution to the present, black and brown people in the Western Hemisphere have linked arms in solidarity with each other. Historian Paul Ortiz discusses how we can’t understand the United States and its past without looking beyond its borders. Resources: Paul Ortiz, An African American and Latinx History of the … Continued
Half a century has elapsed since 1968, a year of globe-spanning revolt and rebellion. What ideas and principles animated the various struggles waged by students, workers, artists, and others? And in what ways can 1968 – and more generally what’s called the global 1960s – inform and inspire current struggles for social and economic justice? … Continued
America’s unique place in the world, the dream of prosperity for the hardworking — these are some of the myths that the United States has told about itself, but which critic Eric Cheyfitz argues are now fraying. He discusses the role of ideology in the U.S., from the American Revolution to the present, and why … Continued
Noam Chomsky’s ideas and critiques are featured in the documentary film “Manufacturing Consent.”
Noam Chomsky is the most prominent and enduring figure on the American left. He is one of the most cited intellectuals in the world. With Edward Herman, he proposed a model for understanding elite control in the United States through the media system, which an iconic film explores.
John Muir Laws writes about and creates illustrations of plants and wildlife found in the Bay Area.
The Paris Commune, the Mexican Revolution, the Spanish Revolution — some of the most important social upheavals fomented by radicals were led or populated by anarchists. Yet most of us have very little knowledge of what the anarchist tradition is actually about, and the ideas of anarchism are often conflated with particular strategies or tactics. … Continued
Charles Hood discusses his book “A Californian’s Guide to the Birds Among Us.”
